Game-counter



(No Model.)

T. BRODEUR & T. O. THAYER.

GAME COUNTER.

No. 593,511. Patented Nov. 9,1897.

Uwvnttomey UNITED STATES TIMOTHY BRODEUR AND TILESTON O. TI-IAYER, OF PORTLAND, OREGON.

' PATENT GAME-COUNTER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 593,511, dated November 9, 1897. Application filed Ap 2, 1897. Serial No. 630,416. (No model.)

.To an whom it may concern.-

Be it known that we, TIMOTHY BRODEUR and TILEsToN O. THAYER, citizens of the United States, residing at Portland, in the county of Multnomah and State of Oregon, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Game-Counters; and we do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to game-counters.

The object is to produce a mechanical counter employing a plurality of indicatinghands and a single gong or alarm-bell, the arrangement of the parts being such that any hand may be operated independently of another to register a point and coincidently therewith to sound an alarm; furthermore, to provide a mechanical counter, including in its mechanism a gong, the sounding mechanism of which will prevent backward movement of an indicating-hand, thereby to prevent cheating or mistake in registering counts.

In a game-counter characterized by our invention we provide a suitable casing in which are mounted, in this instance, four ratchetwheels, the bearings or shafts of which project through to the front of the casing and carry each an indicating-hand adapted to travel over a dial marked with suitable numbers or combinations of numbers, as the case may be. Arranged in this instance centrally of the group of ratchet-wheels is an ordinary gong, and pivoted around this gong are four hammer-arms, the weighted ends of'which keep the hammers normally'out of engagement with the bell. Pivotally mounted adj acent to each ratchet-wheel is a lever which performs the double function of a hammertripper and a pawl for locking the ratchet wheels against backlash, a spring having its end arranged in the path of movement of each of these levers being provided for the purpose of projecting a lever downward or inward, as the case may be, whena pawl reaches the point of release on a tooth of the ratchetwheel and thereby cause the lever to contact with the free end of a hammer-arm and cause it to sound an alarm. The springs for actuatin g the levers may be of any preferred con- .movement of a lever but to be normally free therefrom. In order that the striking end'of the hammers may at all times be normally free from the bell, these ends of the upper ham mers work inside the bell, so that they will be free to swing downward and out of en gagement with the bell after being actuated, and the striking ends of the lower hammers work against the outside of the bell, so that they also will swing out of engagement therewith. This arrangement is adopted for the purpose of doing away with all stops and the like which would be necessary to prevent the upper hammers from resting on the bell and the lower hammers from dropping too far down ward when released.

Further and more specific details of construction will be hereinafter more fully described, and pointed out in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings, forming part of this specification, and in which like letters of reference indicate corresponding parts, we have illustrated one form of embodiment of our invention, although it is to.

be understoodthat, if desired, other forms of embodiment thereof may be employed without departing from the spirit of the same, and in these drawings Figure l is a View in elevation showing the front portion of the counter, displaying the indicating-dials and indicating-hands. 2 is also a view in elevation showing the rear portion of the counterwith the door or backing removed, displaying the arrangement of ratchet-wheels, the bell, the levers, bell-hammers, and the hammer-actuating springs.

Referring to the drawings, A designates a casing, which may be of any preferred shape and be ornamented in any suitable manner, and is adapted to be hung against a wall or to lie flat upon a table. Secured in this casing is a board a, having openings in which are mounted the shafts or spindles b of a series of ratchet-wheels B, in this instance four. These ratchet-wheels may be of any constructionvand made of any suitable material, and are arranged, in this instance, equidistant Fig.

, mer tripper or operating-lever and of a pawl to prevent backlash or backward turning of the ratchet wheels. sult, each lever is provided with a part d, bent downward to form a pawl, the free end of which engages with the teeth of the ratchetwheel, as shown at the right-hand side of Fig. 2, or is bent rearward to form a toe (F, as shown at the left-hand side of Fig. 2. From each of these pawls projects an arm (Z adapted to lie in the path of the bell-hammers E,

which are suitably supported upon the board, as by being pivoted. Each lever is adapted to be sprung inward by a spring 1 when the pawl escapes from a tooth, the spring, in this instance, being helical in form and has its inner whirl secured to the board and its outer end bent so as to lie close to but normally out of engagement with the levers. The bellhammers E may be of any preferred construction, and the two upper ones have their hammers (2 arranged within the bell and the lower pair have their hammers arranged exterio'rly of the bell, the reason of this arrangement, as before stated, being to allow the hammers to drop free of the bell after having been actuated. If desired, steps may be employed for limiting the movement of the bell-hammer, but it is preferred that they shall be engaged with the ends of the levers (1, so as to limit their downward movement when released.

In order to prevent undue wear both of the pawls and the ratchet-wheels, we may pro vide the pawls each with a roller, as shown in Fig. 2, to work against the ratchet-teeth.

The operation of the counter will be obvious. When a number is to be registered, the

operator moves an indicating-hainl as many times as may be necessary, and will thereby turn a ratchet-wheel, cause a pawl to ride up the teeth of the same and through the mech- To accomplish this reanism hereinbefore described to ring thebell. It is preferred in practice that the ratchetwheels should each be provided with as many teeth as there are divisions on the dial, so that each alarm of the bell will be equivalent to the registering of a number. All of the indicating-hands work in the same manner, and by providing a plurality of them, as described, four or more players may keep their scores without interference.

This counter is adapted for various uses, and more particularly for use in connection with the game of billiards, whereits use will be found highly advantageous and convenient.

Having thus described our invention, what we claim as new, and desire to secure by lletters Patent of the United States, is

l. A game'counter, comprising a plurality of ratchet-wheels, each carrying an indicating-hand adapted to traverse a dial, a gong, bell-hammers pivoted adjacent to the gong, levers carrying pawls, the free ends of said levers being arranged to contact with the bell-hammers when the ratchet-wheels are turned, and s 'lrings for forcing the lovers into engagement with the bell-hammers, sub stantially as described.

2. A game-counter, comprising a casing having a board arranged therein, provided. with a plurality of dials, ratchet-wheels arranged on the rear side of the board, and having their stems or shafts projecting through to the front side of the board, and carrying indieating-hands adapted to traverse the dials,agongarranged cquidistantifromthe ratchet-wheels, hammers pivoted adjacent to the gong, those arranged. above the gong striking the inner side thereof and those arrangml. below the gongstriking the outer-side thereof, levers carrying pawls adapted to engage the teeth of the ratehct-wheel, the free ends of said levers being arranged to contact with the hammers, and springs for forcing the levers into engagement with the hammers, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof we allix our signatures in presence of two witnesses.

'lllllOTllY BRODEUR. TILESTON O. Tl lAYIlC it. Witnesses:

E. Flutes, E. GuNnnnsoN. 

